1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to folding chairs, and more particularly relates to improvements in director's chairs that are foldable and unfoldable between a set-up condition for use and a substantially collapsed condition for transportation and/or storage.
2. Discussion of Art
Popularity of the mini van, the sport utility vehicle and the recreational vehicle has resulted in increased demand for improved collapsible furniture and particularly collapsible portable furniture of the outdoor type which may be readily stowed in a vehicle and conveniently manually transported to a picnic area or the site of a spectator event, such as, for example, an outdoor concert, a sporting event, a golf tournament, or an air show, where the general rule is to bring your own seating accommodations.
Considerable attention has been directed to the provision of improved collapsible furniture for the picnicker, sportsman, hunter, fisherman, hiker, biker and the like. However, the resulting furniture designs and particularly the designs for chairs and seats have usually incorporated some reduction in size, as compared to the full-sized article, with a corresponding reduction in the level of seating comfort. The wooden beach chairs and lawn furniture of an earlier era has generally been replaced by light-weight tubular metal furniture of a more modern design. However, little has been done to optimize the collapsibility and portability of the full-sized article, which is a goal of the present invention.
One foldable chair design available on the market is known as a director's chair. A director's chair generally comprises a chair frame that folds side-to-side with a scissors action. A conventional director's chair design is illustrated in FIG. 1 in its set-up condition and in FIG. 2 in its collapsed condition. Generally, such a chair comprises transversely spaced apart left and right frame side assemblies of mirrored design interconnected by cross-members that can be folded together to collapse the chair to a generally flat condition. The seat and back of the chair are made of canvas or a similar strong fabric which bears the user's full weight and can be collapsed with the frame. Generally, the seat and scissored cross-members work together to support and distribute the sitter's weight in a set-up chair so that the seat is comfortably taut.
Such prior art chairs provide the convenience of easy fold-up, and are lightweight so as to permit easy transportability. Common uses for such chairs are at the beach or at a picnic where easy set-up and break-down, as well as the ability to carry the chair along with other things, is desirable. A common problem with the prior art director's chair design is that it cannot be folded to a completely flat condition. This is a result of the design of the frame, as the interconnection of rigid frame members to one another often interferes with the folding action of the chair. For example, both the cross-members of the conventional director's chair are of the same size and shape such that they are interleaved one in front of the other at their riveted joints. While such chairs can be folded to a near-flat condition, this can used up critical space for storage and travel for a user, and even transport and storage space for a retailer. In general, a chair that can be folded to a more compact bundle can create more room for other objects in a car, truck, or shipping container, or even on the shelf of a retailer. Additionally, a chair that can be folded to a flat condition is advantageous where multiple such chair as to be stacked together, either side-by-side, or on top of one another.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a director's chair that can be folded to a flat condition in order to reduce the space occupied by the chair when collapsed. Further, there is a need for such a chair that can be folded with minimal effort, without limiting or compromising the structural features of the chair. Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a foldable and portable director's chair design that overcomes the problems and drawbacks associated with folding director's chairs, and therefore significantly improves the utility of such a chair while permitting easy transportation and/or storage in a collapsed condition.
The present invention addresses these issues, and provides a means to circumvent the associated drawbacks of such prior art foldable chair designs.